Ever since the conclusion of the college football season, there's been ample discussion about doubling the number of teams who qualify for the College Football Playoff.
But on Wednesday, former secretary of state and current CFP committee member Condoleezza Rice spoke up about the four-team playoff, backing the current format, according to ESPN's Heather Dinich.
"I feel pretty strongly about four now because I thought that the rivalry weekend – that Saturday after Thanksgiving – almost felt like a play-in game," Rice said. "Now the Iron Bowl, Alabama has to beat Auburn. You could imagine the circumstances in another year where the Civil War, Oregon really has to beat Oregon State. There are questions whether they will."
Rice said the current format makes for a good build up to the championship game. Viewership was at an all-time high and if a change were to happen, that could jeopardize the value of each game.
"I agree that if it got much larger, I don't think you would have that momentum coming out of the regular season, so it's the best possible scenario," she said.
Pac-12 commissioner Larry Scott added that he doesn't expect an expansion, either, saying the toll it would take on the athletes might be too much.
Scott referenced college basketball's March Madness, saying that the length of the tournament impacts popularity.
He said that might have to do with the fact that not many fans pay close attention until the Final Four, given the volume of teams involved and that the entire tournament takes a month.
"I think we're all lamenting regular-season college basketball not being more popular right now, at a time when March Madness has never been more popular," Scott said. "To me, that's a great example of the field being so big that the regular season doesn't matter anymore."
